Tuesday, November 16, 2010

The Vending Machine Is Not Your Friend

Just a few more hours and if you’re lucky you’ll be preparing that quinoa special dinner or running, or doing other fabulous things. But right now you’re staring at a computer screen and you’re hungry, gargantuanly hungry.

The type of hungry where everything, including the one vegan option and 15 non-vegan options in the vending machine (with the exception of the meat and cheese jerky packet - ewwwww) are starting to look good.

So you think to yourself, quarters in hand, “I should have brought another snack. An easy snack. A vegan snack that I could feel good about.” And that’s when you stumbled upon this entry and noted five snacks that I bring for times when I really don’t want to take the 3:05 vending machine walk of shame.

Beyond the staple fruits and veggies here are my suggestions:

1. Justin’s Almond Butter with Maple Packet. Good with just about anything or split open and eaten alone. Perfect for traveling and perfect for lip smuckering. They have quite a few vegan friendly choices if you're lucky enough to have a store in your area that carries the complete product line. You can view all of their fabulous products here.

I have to say when they switched to their new white packaging I was a little bummed - the old, not so clean-cut, peanut butter package, wore a warning on the back that always made me laugh and said something like, "Warning: May make you want to hug a tree."

2. Trader Joe's Roasted Seaweed Snack. So sue me I like seaweed. They're about a dollar a pack and nice little wispy things to crunch on, add to a soup or a salad.

3. Mini Bars from Larabar. I call these my “treats.” They’re great for snacks and come in a variety pack. I am always amazed by the ingredients in these foods. You truly see no preservatives or any other hard to pronounce garbage. For example, if you look at the Banana Bread bar the ingredients listed are almonds, dates, and unsweetened bananas.

I would recommend the full bars as well. You can check out all of their lovely flavors here.

One Tiny Caution: Beware of the new chocolate chip flavors. They look tempting but are not vegan. And since Larabar has provided traditional vegan goodies, I grabbed for a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough and then halfway through realized I was not eating vegan chocolate chips. Just a friendly reminder to myself and all of you fabulous vegans that we should always double check the labels.

4. 100 Calorie Almond Packs– Easy to find in the grocery store or to make yourself. Great for pairing with a nutty personality, easy to make during the week and easy to store at a desk. If you're making them yourself, they could also be available in cashew, walnut, soy nut, and pumpkin seeds flavors - or really any other flavor you want.

5. Little Lad’s Lemon Herbal Popcorn – I blame the administrative assistant in my area for getting me hooked on Little Lad's Lemon Herbal Popcorn. I refuse to surrender a name, but you know who you are. If lemon doesn't satisfy your taste buds it also comes in regular and BBQ flavors.